The use of AI in nonprofits has created a breadth of opportunities for increased productivity and growth in recent years. In our recent Webinar, Microsoft Copilot for Nonprofits – Live Demo with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact, with Qlic Managing Director Andy Graham and Microsoft’s Chis Lines, we explored firsthand how Microsoft 365 Copilot can streamline your daily tasks, enhance decision-making, and revolutionise collaboration in your workspace.
In this blog, we will further explore the topics discussed, including Copilot’s innovative features in specific charity use cases, and understand how it integrates seamlessly with your existing Nonprofit Microsoft 365 applications to bring efficiency and intelligence to the forefront of your operations.
Maximising Efficiency with Copilot
At Qlic, we believe in technology as a force for empowerment and understand that efficiency is paramount for nonprofits aiming to maximise their impact with limited resources.
The benefits of using Copilot for charities are far-reaching. Its vast range of advanced features enables you to streamline tasks like document summarisation, presentation creation, and email drafting, enabling organisations to make the most of their time and resources.
Microsoft Copilot Practical Applications
Copilot facilitates collaboration among nonprofit team members, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. Here are just some of the ways not-for-profits can use Copilot:
- Document and Video Summarisation
- Powerpoint Presentation Creation
- Email Drafting and Optimisation
- Resource Optimisation
- Priority Summarisation and Optimisation
- Calendar Management and Personal Assistance
- Meeting Summaries and Analysis in Microsoft Teams
Let’s explore each of these capabilities further…
Document and Video Summarisation
Copilot can help to summarise large documents and videos, saving time and improving information accessibility. This is particularly useful in nonprofits, where you are often required to deal with extensive reports, research papers, and legal documents.
Copilot’s document summarisation feature condenses lengthy texts into concise summary points to suit your needs, enabling you to grasp key points quickly and make informed decisions without reading through every detail.
Powerpoint Presentation Creation
Copilot can assist in creating presentations by generating content based on your prompts. By analysing input prompts and suggesting relevant content, Copilot helps you develop engaging presentations that effectively convey your message to your audience, whether senior stakeholders, volunteers, or fundraisers. If you need to adapt your tone depending on your audience, please prompt Copilot to adjust the language as required.
Email Drafting and Optimisation in Outlook
It’s no secret that emailing can often take up valuable time and limit productivity. Copilot helps with email drafting and optimisation by providing suggestions and improvements, ensuring effective communication. Whether drafting fundraising appeals, communicating with donors, or coordinating with volunteers, Copilot can help you craft clear, compelling emails for your audience.
Resource Optimisation
Copilot can contribute to resource optimisation within nonprofit organisations by automating routine tasks and enabling staff to focus on high-value activities. By automating repetitive tasks like data entry, scheduling, and document management, Copilot frees up valuable time and resources that can be redirected towards other important work.
Priority Summarisation and Categorisation
Copilot can aid in prioritising tasks and categorising information by analysing data and providing summaries. For nonprofit organisations, this could mean efficiently organising projects, identifying critical tasks, and categorising information to allocate limited resources more effectively.
For example, if you’ve been on annual leave for a week, simply ask Copilot to summarise the latest updates and requests from key stakeholders across Outlook and Teams during your absence to receive a bullet-pointed summary of any communications and actionable tasks.
Calendar Management and Personal Assistance
Copilot acts as a virtual personal assistant, managing calendars and providing quick responses. For nonprofit staff juggling multiple responsibilities and commitments, Copilot can help streamline scheduling, coordinate meetings, and prioritise tasks.
Meeting Summaries and Analysis in Microsoft Teams
Copilot generates meeting summaries and provides insights into communication dynamics within Teams. For nonprofits using Teams for remote work and meetings, Copilot offers support by capturing meeting highlights, action items, and key takeaways.
Copilot’s analysis tools can also help identify communication patterns, track progress on action items, and improve overall meeting effectiveness.
Copilot for Not-for-Profit Example Use Cases
As part of our recent Copilot for Not-for-profit demo, Microsoft’s Chris Line delved deeper into specific charity Copilot use cases, showcasing the vast scope for productivity optimisation in a nonprofit environment such as:
- Generating Mission Statements
- Enhancing an existing Mission Statement
- Creating Visual Assets like a Charity Logo
- Brainstorming Fundraising Ideas
- Generating a Fundraising Plan
- Analysing Volunteer Data in Excel
From generating mission statements to creating visual assets, brainstorming fundraising ideas to generating a detailed fundraising plan and analysing volunteer data in Excel, he explored that whilst Copilot is not a replacement for valuable nonprofit workforces, its capabilities from the point of ideation to execution have the ability to revolution efficacies and make crucial savings both financially and time-wise.
Leveraging AI for Data Insights
As we know, data-driven decision-making is crucial for nonprofits. Copilot integrates across Microsoft 365 and uses data analysis techniques to extract valuable insights from complex datasets, empowering nonprofits to make informed decisions and optimise their strategies.
Addressing Compliance and Security Concerns
Copilot complies with GDPR and offers enterprise-grade security features to ensure data integrity. Data accessed by Copilot within an organisation’s domain remains confidential and is not used to train the model. However, as explored in Preparing Your Nonprofit for Copilot below, it’s recommended to ensure that your organisation’s data strategy and permissions are set correctly to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive information.
External Apps and Salesforce Integration
As discussed by Chris during the demo, Copilot is not directly integrated with Salesforce or other external applications. However, Microsoft Dynamics 365 does have Copilot capabilities. Copilot Studio also allows creation of customised Copilot applications to meet specific organisational needs.
Preparing Your Not-for-profit for Copilot Integration
Nonprofits should assess their needs and budget constraints to determine the appropriate version of Copilot for their organisation.
To determine if Copilot is the right fit for your not-for-profit and to prepare for its integration, you should consider the following factors:
- What are your organisation’s goals for using AI?
- What are your organisation’s pain points that AI could be used to address?
- What are your organisation’s current capabilities in terms of AI?
- Does your organisation have a data strategy in place?
- Does your organisation have the necessary infrastructure and resources to support AI initiatives?
Implementing Copilot requires careful consideration of data strategy, infrastructure, training, and licensing requirements. As a result, points 4 and 5 are particularly important to aid a seamless integration with your current infrastructure and ensure you can leverage Copilot to its full capability. Every file you want to use with Copilot must be on the cloud. You must also ensure you are on the correct licensing structure to enable Copilot to see the data you want to access.
Copilot Pricing and Not-for-profit Discount
Nonprofits can choose between the free and paid versions of Copilot based on their needs and budget. The paid version offers advanced features and deeper integration with Microsoft applications but requires a per-user annual license fee.
While Copilot offers a free version with robust capabilities, unlocking its full potential requires investment in the paid version. The enhanced features and productivity gains available with the paid subscription lay mainly within core Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook.
At this time, there’s currently no nonprofit discount for Copilot, with the cost for the Microsoft 365 Copilot being just under £300 per user per annum.
However, evaluating the balance between investment and return on productivity gains is useful when considering Copilot integration. While a discount may not be currently available, the enhanced productivity and efficiency offered by Copilot can still represent a valuable investment for nonprofit organisations striving to maximise their impact within budget constraints.
It’s also important to note that not everyone in your nonprofit may need a license, so considering a strategic approach to licensing based on individual needs may be beneficial.
Closing Thoughts on Copilot for Not-for-profits
Microsoft Copilot presents an exciting opportunity for not-for-profit organisations to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and maximise impact. With its integration with Microsoft applications, Copilot offers many benefits, from document summarisation to data analysis.
Despite the lack of a specific nonprofit discount, the enhanced productivity and capabilities of Copilot make it a valuable tool for organisations striving to achieve more with limited resources, creating a strong counterbalance for the investment.
As technology continues to evolve, embracing innovative solutions like Copilot can empower not-for-profits to navigate challenges and pursue their missions with increased agility and impact.
Ready to unlock the power of Copilot for your nonprofit? Learn more about Copilot’s features and schedule a consultation today by clicking the button below.
